It's been a long time but I thought you would like to hear about Rosie's progress since my desperate phone call for help at the beginning of the year. We added another couple of things to the very long list of ways to help Rosie feel less anxious in the evenings and then very suddenly she did. I strongly suspect that in the end it was just a case of time.
A dog trainer friend of ours always said that it takes 3 months for the dog to realise that it is in safe and friendly hands and realise that the new home is actually home and not just another stopping off point. Then it takes another 3 months for some of the less sociable behaviours to go and yet another three months to begin to develop the dog you want to be with for the rest of it's life. In Rosie's case it looks as though she wasn't far off the mark as far as the first period was concerned (we are still working on the last two).
Not only does she settle in the evening (between bouts of activity) but we are now able to leave her on her own at home for short periods of time, which is essential now that the weather is hot and we can't leave her in the car at all. She looks at us reproachfully as we drive off, greets us deliriously when we return and curls up quietly on the sofa in the interim. The house shows no signs that her solitude has been at all stressful for her. I think we learned a lot about her previous life through her behaviour particularly in those first 3 months.
By April we felt confident enough to take her on holiday with us and our confidence was rewarded. OK she wasn't an Angel all the time but she's young. She did however sit through several choir practices and three long services in Tewkesbury Abbey, she ate out with us several times and became a great favourite in some places, there was even a biscuit waiting for her every time we went into one café. What's more she left the self catering cottage that we had hired in as good a state when we left as when we arrived.
We are off again this month and the new experience this time will be a B&B on a farm (fingers crossed). She is still an exuberant collie and does get a bit over excited at times but then she's young and still having new experiences.
We hear a little about Wiccaweys through Douglas and gather that life could be smoother for you and the dogs.
We wish you well. :-)
Yours
Elaine Healey
No comments:
Post a Comment